Mamelodi Sundowns attacker Lucas Ribeiro Costa was left amazed by the quality exhibited in the Premier Soccer League.
The 26-year-old South American joined the defending champions in the 2023/2 season. In his debut season with the club, he played a total of 37 matches across all competitions and scored 16 goals with nine assists.
In the ongoing campaign, the Brazilian has six goals and four assists already in just 11 matches in all tournaments. However, despite that, Ribeiro is not focusing on himself but the quality within the PSL.
‘I was surprised by the players' quality in Mzansi' – Ribeiro
“First of all, it was actually a surprise to see players of high quality still playing in the league [PSL],” the versatile attacker told the media.
“Probably would’ve been anticipated such quality would be playing in Europe already because there are many players that [I have] seen in the squad and probably other teams in the league that have high qualities.
“[I] was surprised that they were also not actually playing at a higher level than the PSL.”
‘Ronwen Williams should be in Europe'
Bafana Bafana captain Ronwen Williams has been outstanding for both Masandawana and the national team. He was nominated for the Ballon d'Or Yashin Trophy and ended up finishing ninth.
Ribeiro insists the 30-year-old has what it takes to play for top teams in Europe, “That one thing [I] noticed upon arriving [at Sundowns] is that the team and the league has high qualities. For example Ronza [Ronwen Williams]. Ronza with the qualities he has, [I] somehow felt sad for him at the Ballon d’Or that he’s not probably in Europe at the top teams,” he added.
“Because it means by him winning means he opens more doors for South African players to tap into that space if one or two of the quality players go into that level.
“That’s one thing that [I] observed when [I] came to the country with the quality of the players.”
